The all-terrain crane is considered in the crane business as being a luxury model of a mobile hydraulic crane. It has the status of being similar to driving a Hummer or a Range Rover on pavement. All-terrain cranes are considered to be a hybrid between a rough terrain crane and mobile truck crane. One more remarkable quality of this specific equipment is its multi-functional ability to be able to navigate through all kinds of off-road terrain. Amongst the main selling characteristics of this crane is that it travels equally well at high speeds down roads.
The Very First Rough Terrain Crane
The very first rough terrain crane was put on the market by Grove in the year 1959. The crane was intended for use and designed to deal with various tasks on construction sites. The crane's tires have the industrial strength that can handle all kinds of difficult terrain and could move small loads in carry mode. During the 1970s, Grove introduced the 4 axle Super-RT 1650 model. This unit has a 270 foot or 82.8 meter height under hook in production, along with a 135 ton lifting capacity. At the end of the day, the rough terrain crane would become the most remarkable equipment of the company over the years.
The Crane's Drawbacks
The rough terrain crane is not without its disadvantages as could not be driven on public roads with any other traffic. Japan is the one country which has made this rule an exception. Moreover, one more problem occurred when the crane's lowered boom tended to block the driver's left and right views, depending on how the cap was positioned. These issues with the design of the crane ended up being severe and dangerous and result in many RT crane accidents, specially while turning. Therefore, flatbeds, low-loaders, lowboys were utilized as the main way of moving rough terrain cranes.